The Day The Squirrel Went Berserk…..!

August 27, 2015August 27, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 4 Comments

You’ve surely heard that ‘ol Ray Stevens song. If not you really should. (Click here to watch/listen) It’s a funny song about a squirrel getting loose in a church service and the chaos that ensued. Ray Stevens is a funny guy anyway and he does great job of singing this hilarious song.

Well, the song was funny enough, and to think something that bizarre could actually happen is ludicrous to consider. But it did! It actually happened at our place. About 10 years ago we were having some night meetings Jack Taylor was preaching here. It was Monday night in November. The weather outside was brutally cold….down in the teens. There was a lady visiting that night who didn’t go to church with us. Nobody knew but she had a little pet ‘sugar glider’. I’d never heard of one, either! But a sugar glider is a little squirrel that some people get as pets. Nobody knew about the squirrel but her.

It was so cold outside that she didn’t want to leave the little varmint in the car for fear that it’d freeze to death so she put it in her purse and came into the church service. I guess she started getting concerned about whether or not it could get enough air in there so she unzipped her purse just a little. Well after the little squirrel warmed up a little and decided to go exploring.

Well, it was, no problemo……..that is until the squirrel ran up a lady’s leg and then on up her back. She let out a blood curdling scream that could’ve broke glass a half mile away. She was up and doing all she could to get that crazed animal off her! I don’t blame her one bit! I looked across the room and saw something on her back and the first thought that went through my mind was….“What the hell is THAT?!!”

Kenny Drake, who was close to the action, picked up something to whack the thing when the squirrel lady started screaming, “Don’t kill it, don’t kill it!!”. “It’s my pet!” Kenny backed down…..reluctantly, I might add. The lady gathered up her little sugar glider, put it back in her purse and we went on with the church service. I don’t remember much Jack said after that….and I doubt if anybody else did either!

That’s the true story about “The Day the Squirrel Went Berserk”!! So the next time you hear Ray Stevens sing that funny little song….you can tell ’em, “That actually happened”!!

“It’s Just Like Riding a Bike!”

August 20, 2015August 23, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

I’ve used that phrase more than a few times. In fact I used the reverse of it just a day or two ago when someone asked me if I played golf. My answer was, “Well, most people wouldn’t call it ‘golf’!’. I then said, “You know, golf’s not like riding a bike”. Which is true for me! The phrase has been used by people for a long time to indicate, “Something that, once learned, is difficult to forget how to do/easy to recall how to do” (* From the Urban dictionary)

Well, I learned to ride a bike at an early age. My dad commandeered a little used bike from someone. The little bike was fine except for the right handlebar, which had been broken about half off. We made ‘er work, though….and I learned to ride it out on the Thurmond Ranch red dirt roads. And true to form, I’ve been able to ride a bike ever since.

I’m a bit of a fitness addict. You can’t tell by lookin’ but it is true. Several years ago I started thinking about biking and how good it’d be for me. I don’t have much left in the ‘knees’ department; a couple of surgeries and half a dozen injuries down through the years. So, I’m thinking the bike would be a good way to get/stay fit. Julie did some great covert research and bought me a really nice hybrid variety bike for Christmas. She did great….I loved the bike and rode it a lot.

I started getting more serious about the biking thing and began to consider a road bike. I mentioned that to a close friend, who is a hardcore IronMan Triathlon competitor. He said, “Don’t buy one….I have one I’ll give you!” And he did….he gave me a really nice, expensive road bike. It‘s a bike with pedals that are designed to ‘clip’ your feet in. (a first for me!) I mean, once you’re clipped in….you’re ‘committed’!! You can ‘unclip’ by moving your foot with an outward motion but it takes a little practice to master it.

My first ride on the bike, clipped-in, went without a hitch. I took every precaution and made it fine. That was late in the fall. Colder weather set in and I brought the bike in a vacant bedroom in the house. When spring rolled around I brought the bike out and prepared for a 35 mile ride. One of my beautiful little granddaughters, Preslie who was about 4 at the time, was staying overnight with us. She’s a cutie! Tons of personality and not afraid to use it! She has a little lisp which just adds to her personality.

Preslie is standing on top of the dog house on the patio….looking over the privacy fence when I mounted the bike. I clipped in, threw my right leg over. Just about the time I was clipping in on the right….the bike ‘locked’ up and I’m down in the driveway! It hurt. Preslie said, “Pa, are you OK?” Disgusted I replied, “Yeah, I’m OK.” I turned the bike upside down and got the tire turning freely. Obviously the chain had been messed up, somehow. So, I’m ready to go again. Same plan…clip in on the left, throw my right leg over and here we go. Only this time I went about 5 feet and it locked up again. Down in the driveway again….this time it really hurt. Rocks poked a gash in my leg and blood was dripping down into my shoe.

Preslie, still watching from the top of the doghouse as encouraging and consoling as she could possibly be said, “ITH OK Pa, you’ll get the hang of it.”

Childlike ……. Childish, Two Totally Different Things!

August 19, 2015August 19, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 1 Comment

I mean….vastly different!! A child can be both and it’s really no big deal. It’s even expected for little kids to be childish in the way they think and behave. After all, they’re new at this thing we call life. And, any parent will tell you that it’s a process; it just takes time to grow them up, and mature them in their understanding and in the way they think, reason and act. One of the mistakes most of us parents have made is to expect too much of them at too early an age. Well, you know, we were new at this parenting thing ourselves and it’s a pretty long learning process for us as well. But we can get better….I can personally vouch for that.

It’s one thing for a child to be childish….but it’s an altogether different situation when adults continue to be childish. To be childlike seems to be a trait to be desired, at least from a Biblical standpoint. Jesus talked a lot about children. He instructed in one place, “in malice be children”. The nugget there is that children naturally have clean hearts. Their hearts haven’t been polluted with the negativity and junk that the world throws at us. A ‘childlike’ faith appears to be the very best faith, the purest….and the most sincere and authentic. Childlike is good!

There was a problem in the early church. Paul addressed it more than once; “I’d like to feed you solid food….but you’re still on milk”. The problem exists today, and maybe to an even greater degree. Immature believers seem to stay in a ‘me-me-me’ mode. It’s always gotta be about them. I have plenty of patience for someone who’s new in the kingdom and making immature statements and mistakes. But my patience runs pretty low for those who’ve been around for a long time and still act like babies. They’re nearly always the ones who cause the trouble with their complaining, gossiping, backbiting and whining.

We’ve decided around our place (Trinity Fellowship) that we are going to expect it of one another to go ahead and ‘grow up’. The entire demeanor of the church, worldwide, would change if everyone would decide that. And maybe just maybe….the outside world would begin to respect us. Until we grow up….we really don’t deserve it!

Get over your childishness! We’ll give you enough time and grace for that. But I hope you never get over your ‘childlikeness’!!

August 12…..A Day That Lives in Infamy……*at least for me!

August 12, 2015August 12, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 5 Comments

Well, maybe that’s a little overstated…Ok it’s way overstated. But it was kinda devastating for me in it’s own little way. It was 34 years ago today at about four o’clock in the afternoon in Sydney, Iowa. For those unfamiliar with professional rodeo Sydney, Iowa is a great rodeo. It’s one that all the cowboys like and about everybody on the trail tries to get to Sydney if at all possible. It’s a small farming town but several thousand spectators come from miles around to see the great rodeo there. The local, between performances, hotspot was Russ’s. A little, nothing special of a bar except during the rodeo you can get all the homegrown tomatoes, cucumbers and corn that you can possibly eat….and of course the beer was cold.

This was going to be my last year of rodeo. I had decided that before the season ever started. Clint was three years old and there were several times during the season that I’d leave the ranch knowing that I wasn’t going to see Julie and him for 3 or 4 weeks. I could hardly take that. When I’d be leaving on one of those month long trips there’d be all kinds of bawlin’ and squawlin’……and every now and then they’d cry too!

I was having a good year despite not drawing great for several stretches. It had been a dream since I was a kid to go to the National Finals Rodeo. (For the non-rodeo people….it’s like the World Series of rodeo) The previous two years I had been on track to make the NFR only to be derailed by injuries that kept me out of competition, once for a month and another for nearly two months. But this year was going to be different. I was drawing good and riding good and was about to be on a good roll. In the most recent PRCA Press Release I was ranked 10^th in the world; I’d just won the bull riding at Yuma, Colorado the day before. I had a decent bull at Sydney that day and then I had about 5 or 6 good ones in a row. It’s a time of the season that you can compete at two rodeos a day for nearly a month. So everything was shaping up for me to make my move…and who knows maybe end up among the top 5 in the world…and pretty much a guarantee to make the NFR.

My bull that day wasn’t one of the best ones but one that I might be able to place on. He was definitely one that I should ride considering the confidence that I was riding with at the time. Well, anyone that knows rodeo knows that ‘what ought to happen’…..rarely does! Lots of variables to deal with, to say the least. The bull bucked me off extremely awkward and I landed hard on my left shoulder, dislocating it. Game over! Season over! Career over! (I laid off for a month and entered a couple of rodeos but the shoulder was far from being stable enough for me to be competitive) Interestingly enough, exactly 5 years before…on August 12, at the same rodeo a bull had hit me in the right shoulder, tore the main ligament, requiring surgery and ending my season.

It sounds strange and probably doesn’t make sense to most but I had a tremendous sense of relief as I boarded my plane in Omaha the next day. An unfulfilled dream was hard to reconcile but the reality of knowing that I was going home to Julie and Clint, for good, sure did feel good. It has bothered me some down through the years that I didn’t make the NFR. It does feel good to have the respect of the guys I rode with and against….but I never regretted coming home to be a Husband and a Dad!

I’m Going Out on a Limb, Here, And Say It’s Beyond Your Capacity to Imagine!

August 4, 2015August 4, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

Did another funeral yesterday (#347). It’s always an honor to be asked to do a service for a family. And even though it’s a day of sadness and grief for family and friends….it’s a great opportunity to give them comfort and to tell the ‘good news’. Over the years I’ve seen a lot of different situations with families going through the loss of a loved one. It’s hard when there’s tension among the siblings, which I see a lot more than I’d like to. I feel for the family members who regret not having spent the quality time with the deceased that they feel they should have. There’s dozens of other scenarios that the passing of a family member brings to light. I’ve tried to be as helpful as I possibly could be in those, sometimes volatile…and painful, situations.

There’s nothing like a funeral to bring people’s thoughts on eternal things. I think that can be a very good, very productive thing in people’s lives. Of course, for me and the performing of a funeral….the one thing that can calm all the fears and uncertainty for the family is if the deceased person had a relationship with God. If so, the service can be upbeat and encouraging. Most of the time at least one of the family members knows the answer to the question…but not every time. In those situations where nobody really knows…I always have peace knowing that the Lord is gracious and compassionate….and a fair Judge.

I have an opinion that I can’t prove….so it’s just an opinion…but I’ve thought about it a lot. I think we’ve underestimated death and our passing from this life to the next one. My opinion is that it’s a whole lot more glorious than we would ever think. If the Father is as good to us in this life as He is….it just makes sense that our passing from here to there would be Some Kind of amazing trip! The problem is that we haven’t had anyone come back and tell us how it is.

You may have a really healthy imagination but my opinion is that the trip is glorious beyond our capacity to imagine!

25,000; Twenty-Five Thousand; 25K; 25 Large!

August 1, 2015August 1, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

That’s how many “Views” I’ve received on my blog, “The Way I See It”, since January 1 (25,145 as of this post!). I’ve posted 130 times. Whoever you are, where ever you are….I appreciate you taking the time to read the blogs! It’s my deepest desire that the blog has blessed you in some way. Give me some feedback! What are your favorite blogs? Mention two or three that have helped you in some way. Hit the “Share” button on FaceBook so your FB friends can access the blog.

Listed below are the Top-Ten Blog Posts ranked by how many times they’ve been read. If you haven’t read them….do it now! If you have….you might want to read them again. I’ve also included a few that are some of my very favorite. *By clicking on the red link you can go straight to that blog. I’d like to grow the, “The Way I See It”, family so I’m asking you to “Share” when you like a post and recommend that your friends become “Followers”.

Lady Gaga, Little Monsters & Jesus!

All I Know is God Loved John Very, Very Much!

VIP #4 – Paul Luchsinger

VIP #1 – Booger Bryant

Quit Telling Me What the Problem Is!

Bless the Lloyd!

“Keith” – It Was a Short Friendship….But a Good One!

Branson to Cherokee – The Longest Night I Ever Spent

Maybe You Should Quit Whippin’ Your Own A#$!

You’re Not Welcome Here!

………..and a few of my very favorite ones.

“Obviously, I’m God’s Favorite”!

You May Not Know This, But I’m Kind of a Big Deal!

It Ain’t Grace’s Fault!

Tee-Ball…..The #1, Undisputed, Very Best Team Sport of ‘Em All!!

How Gunnar Payne Changed the World!

……….or if you just need a good laugh!

The ‘Baddest’ Dang Turkey in Arkansas!

That Whole, “Greet the Brethren With a Holy Kiss” Thing, is Waaay Overrated!!

Just Some Friendly Advice: Always Approach a Possum With Extreme Caution!!

Thanks again for reading the blogs!! Weigh in on your favorites and spread the word!!

THANKS!!

There’s Just Something About ‘That Name’!!

July 30, 2015April 13, 2020 / Andy R Taylor / 4 Comments

After we had moved from the ranch in the Texas Panhandle into Oklahoma, we still went to church for a time in Allison, Texas. This particular Sunday we had come back the 30 miles to our house. Our great friends, Daryle and Carrie Perry and their daughter Micah came to our house for lunch. After lunch we were just sitting around, hanging out and visiting when one of our boys yelled at us from our bedroom. Clay, who at the time was about 2, had taken the lid off the toothpaste and in trying to taste it had swallowed the lid. He was choking and gasping for air when I got into the room. You can imagine the panic that ensued!

By now we’re all in the room as I grabbed him and tried to reach in his mouth for the lid. No luck! I handed Clay to Carrie who is a very proficient nurse and she did everything she knew to do to dislodge the lid…..but to no avail. Just so you can grasp the chaos of the situation, there was total panic on all of us. It was the worst feeling you could possibly imagine. Clay had turned blue and the clock was ticking!

I grabbed him from Carrie and went to the floor with him. I reached into his mouth as deep as I possibly could (Afterward I had bite marks high upon my wrist!) and could just barely touch the lid with the tip of my finger. There was just no way I was going to be able to get it out that way. Clay had become limp and blue…and beginning to be lifeless. The situation was getting dimmer! Out of total fear of the worst-case scenario, and utter desperation I yelled at the top of my lungs, “In the Name of Jesus, Come Out!!”.

I no sooner got the words out when that toothpaste lid shot out of Clay’s mouth like a missile onto the floor! He took in a huge breath of air and immediately everything was OK! We all just sat down on the floor crying….out of relief.

The Name of Jesus has power! Using that Name ‘saved the day’ for us there on the bedroom floor 25 years ago (and a lot of other times since then, too!), and It’ll save the day for you too!

“Keith” – It Was a Short Friendship….But a Good One!

June 30, 2015June 30, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 14 Comments

Sitting in a local truck-stop about midnight with some friends when a guy from another table came over to ours’. Keith was a truck driver from a town about an hour away. He said, “I could tell from overhearing you guys that you believe in God.” He went on to say, “I’m in a bad way, I need help.” He then began to pour his heart out to us. Turned out that his wife had left him for his best friend and he was about a low as a man could be. We talked with him for an hour or so, then prayed with him to receive Jesus.

I made it a point to call Keith at least once a week, which I did for a couple of months. He’d have a lot of bad days and a good one here and there. Then one week he called me. I vividly remember the call. He said, “You know you’re always calling me to check in and cheer me up, but today I’m having a really good day….and I just wanted to call and say thank you. I think I’m going to be OK.”

Tried to call him a couple weeks later, but no answer. I tried to call him at least a dozen times over the next month. I bumped into a longtime friend from Keith’s hometown and asked him if he knew Keith. He said that he did and then told me that Keith had been found dead in his truck about a month before of an apparent heart attack. My friend told me about his funeral and said that Keith’s folks had no idea of his decision to receive Jesus.

It was really rewarding to be able to call Keith’s mom and tell her about our midnight truck-stop meeting. You can imagine the peace that it gave her. I also got the opportunity to meet his son a few months later and tell him that his Dad belonged to the Lord….and would be waiting for him in heaven. I think of Keith often and how blessed I was to know him….even if it was just for a short time.

Are You A ‘Kingdom’ Person? Part 2 – Communication With The Father

June 18, 2015June 18, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 4 Comments

It’s an important question and how you answer it will decide how fruitful your spiritual life will be. A ‘kingdom’ person is keenly aware of the ‘moving’ of the Lord in his/her generation. And they’re willing to accept their place in the Body of Christ to make a difference with their life.

Kingdom people have a genuine relationship with the Father and they communicate with Him on a regular basis. The Bible says that we didn’t choose God….He chose us! That’s pretty amazing if you think about it. God could be anything He wanted to be…..and His choice was to be a Father to us. Jesus came to reveal Him, as Father, to us. Even when the disciples asked Jesus how to pray He answered, “Pray like this…..our Father……” That’s Jesus, God’s only begotten Son, giving you and I permission to relate to, and interact with, God exactly like He did! If we don’t wake up to that reality we’ll miss much of what life’s about.

It seems that some people think it’s the Pastor’s job to communicate with God for them….but that’s not true. In fact, it’s ludicrous! Father’s have a driving desire to communicate with their children. Now, think about it; God invented this ‘Father’ stuff and He’s a lot better at it than we are. I’m a dad to 5 awesome kids. They’re all pretty much grown up now but I still love to communicate with them. I like to hear what they’re interested in; I’m concerned when they’re going through trials; I care about every area of their life. I don’t want to intrude but I do want to help them and their families in any way I can. Well as much as you can agree with those things….God’s more interested than I could possibly be! Your pastor is important but remember, your Father wants to talk to you! Kingdom people communicate with their Father!

VIP # 5 & 6 – Edith Yowell & Nellie Millar

June 11, 2015June 11, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

Definitely VIP’s! Edith Yowell was my first-grade teacher and Nellie Millar, my second-grade teacher. No kindergarten for me…in fact I don’t think they even had kindergarten in Reydon, Oklahoma in 1958. I mean, it was in the day of outhouses (fortunately we had indoor plumbing!). We did, however, have some neighbors who still had a dirt floor in their house.

My first day of school was a memorable one; I can remember the excitement of being a little kid embarking on some kind of great adventure. I met a bunch of new friends and some of them are still friends today. I’m pretty sure on the first day of school we got handed the book, “Tip”. It was a story about a dog. When we finished that one it was “Tip & Mitten”; a dog and a cat this time. Then not long after those it was “Fun With Dick and Jane”. Still remember those vividly.

My Mom and Dad already had me in the mode to read so I just devoured “Tip”, and “Tip & Mitten”. “Fun With Dick and Jane” was a little more challenging, of course, but I was really learning to read now. As I look back, and think back, it seems apparent that these two teachers had an incredible impression on me. I think there are several things that they taught and imparted but the most important thing I got from them was the desire to be a ‘reader’. Somehow they instilled in me the desire to read and that reading was fun, enjoyable and, almost always, productive. It’s a desire that I still have today! I’d definitely advise parents to instill the need to read in their kids. They’re going to have to be reading their whole lives. And to be a good reader just does nothing but good!

Writing is something that I really enjoy these days. I think I’ll be doing it for a long, long time. I can’t help but think how valuable to me Mrs Yowell and Mrs. Millar were to this process. I can’t say enough good about good teachers; they’re not paid enough in my books and their job isn’t easy. They have a tremendous responsibility….and opportunity, for that matter. I had some really good ones….maybe I’ll write something about them later. But, I’m extremely grateful for Edith Yowell and Nellie Millar! They got me headed in the right direction. They were some great ones!!